Disappear
by QueenKalasin
Summary: Harry has gone missing, and Ginny's not sure how to deal with the fact that she has a baby on the way. Hermione has her own problems when Ron goes missing too. M rating is for random parts of some chapters. Sequel to The Feud but the plot stands alone. QK
1. Chapter 1 Gone

**Chapter One**

**Gone**

"Missing? What do you mean, they're missing?"

"_If I ever disappear, don't think it's because I'm somewhere I want to be more than I want to be with you. I love with all my heart. I'd rather be with you than anywhere else."_

"The last anyone knew, they were heading to Egypt, something about picking up the trail, but that was two weeks ago."

"_No matter how long it takes, I will come back to you. I would have no choice, you are my life, my love, the very air I breathe."_

"They were supposed to check in ten days ago."

"_I won't stay away longer than I have to. I'll write when I can."_

"We've been searching since then, but we haven't turned up much."

"_I love you, I love you more than anything in the world."_

"I'm sorry, Mrs Potter, but we're afraid Harry's gone."

"_I'll be back for you, Ginny, love of my life. If you don't remember anything else I ever tell you, remember that."_

And that's when she fainted dead away. All the blood rushed from her already pale face, and Ginny Weasley-Potter crumpled to the floor.

"Ginny!" cried a voice as someone rushed forward to help Mrs Harry Potter to her feet again.

The unspeakable who had delivered the news to her shook his head, thinking how horrible it was that the young woman was widowed just three months after she had married one of the most famous wizards of the age.


	2. Chapter 2 Surprised?

From: Fan ()

-------------------

More people will read your stories if you bother to make sure your title is

spelled correctly.

-------------------

Thanks for the review, I totally agree and I changed the title as soon as I opened yours and found out I had misspelled it.

From: sweet pea ()

-------------------

i liked the last one so you need to keep writing because this is to small to

judge by

Thanks for the review. I'm not really sure how long this one is going to be. Its either going to be a lot longer than the last one, or it could be much much shorter, it just depends on which of the two possible ideas I have that I end up using!

* * *

**Chapter Two **

**Surprised?**

_NO LONGER THE BOY WHO LIVED, _the headline proclaimed, but those were not the words that affected Ginny Potter. She, in fact, barely glanced at them. Ginny spent most of the day that the article appeared hidden in her room, with her best friend, Hermione Granger, sobbing over the other words that had been following her. It was those words, the ones that followed her around in whispers that really pierced the numb wall of Ginny's grief.

"Widowed before her eighteenth birthday! That's what comes of marrying too young and in these uncertain times."

"I heard that she and her brother's girlfriend cooked the whole thing up! Arranged for the two poor young men to be done away with, and they plan to split the money from the estates!"

"Poor Harry. The dear boy had such a hard life and that _wife _of his just made things harder. She split up him and his best friend, and took away the only real family the child ever had."

"That girl was always a wild one! Think what she got herself involved in first year of school!"

"She hasn't even shed a tear for her dead husband! She goes about as if nothing's happened with the poor by hardly gone a week!"

"They weren't even married three months! And now that young Mrs Potter is an awfully rich young women, if you get my meaning."

"_Poor, _woman! She must be awfully lonely now. Though I suppose the Potter name and fortune she made sure to grab keep her company."

The words followed Ginny everywhere she went, especially when her back was turned. They would have forced her to stay at home, except her house was filled with Harry and she was desperately trying to stop forgetting that he was gone, which she couldn't do with his memory so close. The situation just about everywhere else was worse, what with people either pitying her and reminding her of Harry or blaming her or mourning the others who had disappeared at the same time. The list wasn't long, just four people, but the number of people left behind that felt their loss was much longer.

Harry was gone, maybe forever.

With that thought, Ginny's stomach rebelled as it often had in the last weeks. She barely made it to the loo in time. When she was finished, Ginny just sat listlessly at the kitchen table at the Burrow. Hermione came to sit next across from her best friend, carrying a plate of buttered toast, and lighting a fire in the cold fireplace. Her eyes travelled across the dusty kitchen, noticing how sad and abandoned the house looked, despite the books and knickknacks that still filled the shelves. It simply wasn't the same with only Ginny and Hermione hiding out from the rest of the world there.

With a sigh, Hermione pushed the toast towards her pale friend. "You should eat something before you starve yourself to death."

"I eat." Replied Ginny dully.

"You don't really," chided Hermione.

"Neither do you," replied Ginny, looking at her pale and drawn best friend. Hermione was the only one who had kept Ginny from going completely insane with grief right after Harry disappeared, even though Hermione herself had been trying to deal with Ron going missing as well.

"I suppose. I just don't want you to starve." Hermione sighed again.

"I won't. If anything, I've been gaining weight." Ginny reassured Hermione.

"How can that be? Gin, you don't eat hardly at all, and when you do, you vomit it all up again." Hermione wondered though neither girl really cared.

Ginny only shrugged in response as she looked down at the plate. It was a moment before either girl realized that there might possibly be some significance attached to what Ginny was experiencing. When it hit them, it hit hard, causing Hermione to leap to her feet and knock a bench over.

"Surely not now, not with Harry… gone." Hermione said aloud what Ginny was thinking.

"Think how happy he'd be to hear…" said Ginny, not really believing it could possibly be true.

"Did you two ever talk about it?" asked Hermione gently.

"Kind of. In a long way down the line sort of way. Not now, not when we're still two teenagers barely out of school. Not when he's fighting a war and I'm not at his side only because I don't want to be a fatal distraction to him." Ginny's mind wandered between the past and present, remembering all the happy little moments when she and Harry had sat together planning their future. For a moment she let herself forget the painful truth that Harry was not likely to ever come back.

"There's a way to test, you know, a spell…" Hermione suggested tentatively.

Moments later, Ginny Potter and Hermione Granger knew conclusively that in about eight months time, there would be a new Potter. And Ginny was nearly the only person left that still believed that there was the slightest chance her husband was still alive.

There were only four people who knew for certain what had happened to the boy who lived after he arrived in Egypt. All four of whom had gone missing.

Angel De Vita was one of those four. She was making a long trek by muggle airplane back to England, on a journey to bring more shocking news to the widow Potter. Though at the moment, Angel really wasn't thinking of the trials to come or the ones of the recent past. She had laid her newly shaggy and blonde locks down on the plane's headrest and was sleeping away the exhaustion of the last weeks. More than two weeks had passed with her in constant travel mode. Her nap on the plane was likely to be the last sleep Angel would see for a while after she landed. Everyone would be wanting explanation and reassurances and there was still so much to be done.

Still, some would say she was better off than those she had just left behind. At least Angel wasn't hiding in a damp cave somewhere, waiting for the broken leg of a companion to heal without the benefit of magic before once again taking up a long and painful battle to seek out and destroy a Dark Lord and all the bits of his soul.

That was the situation that Nate Deneenan and Ron Weasley found themselves in. after the battle that had taken place between a small number of Death Eaters and their even smaller group, Nate had dispatched Angel to England to report the goings on. They knew that those at home would worry over the lack of contact, but there was little choice. The Death Eaters had found them the first time by tracing their magic.

Owls were not safe to carry mail, even if it was coded and muggle methods where available, were little better. Angel's message would have to do. The residents of the cave could only hope that she could soothe the fears of those they loved.

Everyone would be so worried, even Hermione, who had been steaming mad when Ron had left. She hadn't wanted to stay behind, and neither had a number of others. Still, they had mostly understood that Harry and a very small group of others had things to do just as they had things to do back home.

The one left behind that both Nate and Ron worried most over was Ginny. She had not been happy when told that her young husband was going off to fight in unknown places. She had been mad when told that he would prefer that she stay safely behind and Ginny had been absolutely furious when she found out that a select group of people had been chosen to act as her bodyguards. Ginny knew that a kidnap attempt against her a month after their wedding had seriously terrified Harry, but she still found it difficult to accept that he felt the need to surround her with six constant guards plus any Order members who had a bit of time to spare. She had fought horribly against the imposition of a personal guard for herself. She thought that Harry should have taken the six would-be guards and herself along with him for protection.

After Harry had been so horribly wounded in battle, Nate, Angel and Ron had agreed with Ginny.

Nate and Ron were particularly glad not to have to break the news to the young Mrs Potter. Ron knew his sister was likely to react badly. Her six guards were more than enough to keep her safe, but Nate and Ron felt that no number of warriors would be equal to protecting those who had harmed her husband from Ginny.

Little did Ron and Nate know that Ginny would be thrilled to hear of her husband was living in a cave with a broken leg.

At least that meant he was alive.

* * *

A/N I'm sorry it's been so long! I'll try to update this again soon!

-QK


	3. Chap 3 Baby on the Way, Angel Arriving

**Chapter Three**

**Baby On The Way, Angel Arriving**

Ginny was lying on her bed, blissfully happy. The man she loved was beside her, asleep for the moment, but still a warm presence. Then Harry suddenly moved to lay on top of her, disproving the notion that he had been sleeping. His hands roamed freely over her as he leaned in to whisper in her ear. "I love you, Ginny. I want to be in you."

Harry trailed kisses down Ginny's front, whisper light and very potent. Ginny arched her back, moaning as Harry's tongue found her inner thigh. As his mouth worked closer to the apex of her thighs, his hands slide up the backs of her legs to grab her ass. Harry then pulled her closer and delved into her folds, suckling at her, causing her to pant and moan. His tongue worked faster and faster and Ginny began to buck.

She came closer and closer to the edge, until finally, wonderfully, horribly, she woke up. It took a moment for the tangled bed sheets and her soaked panties to make sense, but when they did, Ginny realized that Harry hadn't been with her and she began to sob. For the rest of the night, Ginny cried into her pillow.

In the morning, she wasn't surprised that it had happened. She had been having dreams about Harry since before he disappeared.

Hermione watched Ginny as she sat listlessly at the kitchen table, staring off into the dusty distance, as though she could spot her missing lover if she looked hard enough into the cluttered shelves full of dirty and forgotten knickknacks. Hermione could sympathize with her younger friend's feelings of abandonment. After all, Hermione had lost her two best friends and her boyfriend in the same fell swoop that had parted Ginny from her boyfriend. Still Hermione worried over the pale and drawn look that had come over Ginny since she had heard the news.

Hermione wasn't sure when Ginny had last eaten and she figured that the girl was getting as little sleep as she was, despite the fact that they had both fled their respective homes with the express purpose of escaping restless nights. But now it seemed not to be their small flats that were haunted by memories but their own minds. Still, Hermione wouldn't have given up her memories of Ron, not even the most unsettling ones, for all the sleep a person could want.

But Hermione knew that she and Ginny both needed to move on- just a little bit. Ginny had to tell her parents and the rest of her family that she was pregnant and it would do them both good to actually leave the house, if only for as long as it took to tell the Weasleys then leave. Still, Hermione wasn't sure how to convince Ginny that sitting contemplating a semi-abandoned kitchen in desperate need of a cleaning was not how she wanted to spend the rest of her life.

Before Hermione had even really begun to figure out a possible strategy, Ginny turned to her, still pale and tired, but now determined as well. "I've been thinking, Hermione. I can't go on as I have been. There's the baby to consider for one thing, and telling my parents about it. I think I should go to them today, and I was hoping you would come with me."

"Of course, Ginny." Hermione said with a small smile. "I don't suppose you want something to eat before we go?"

"No. Mum will want to feed me anyway."

"Let's go then." Sighed Hermione, knowing that this would be difficult for Ginny but also knowing that her friend would be equal to the task.

A handful of floo powder and a few clearly spoken words later, Ginny and Hermione were stepping out of the fireplace in the kitchen of the new headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. Bile rose in Ginny's throat as she remembered standing in the very same room with Harry at her side only months before, explaining to her family that she and Harry had run away, gotten married and hoped that they could mend the rift that had grown between them all. Ginny managed to swallow, and turned to her family, most of whom were sitting at the table, looking startled to see the two witches who stood before them.

Ginny just stood looking at them all, not sure what to say or how to answer the unasked questions in their eyes. After she forced the room to stop spinning, Ginny still couldn't think. Finally, she simply blurted out the truth artlessly. "I'm pregnant."

There was silence, and then everyone reacted at the same time. Ginny suddenly found herself drowning in family and choking on her own tears. Her parents, Bill, Charlie, the twins, Hermione, but the two who were most conspicuous were the two that weren't there. Ginny wanted to sob Ron and Percy's names almost as loudly as her heart screamed for Harry.

But Ginny remained silent. After all, she needed to be strong now, because the one thing she knew about being a mother was that she would have to be strong every minute of her life from that moment on.

"Master, why doesn't he simply kill her?" whined Peter Pettigrew to the cloaked man beside him in the hot and stuffy attic of an un-rented flat overlooking the street of muggle London where the Leaky Caldron was located.

"We need her information, Wormtail." Hissed the Dark Lord.

"Rabastan goes to slowly. He'll be seen!" fretted the rat like man.

"Be silent. Rabastan will serve well, he knows we're keeping an eye on him." snarled the snake like man with the glowing red eyes.

"Isn't it risky to try and capture her here, with all those witches and wizards near by?" asked Wormtail timidly.

"No, you ignorant coward. It would be more risky to try and capture her amidst thousands of muggles. The aurors would be on us in a second as soon as those muggle police men were sent for, you know they have some sort of deal worked out." Voldemort was only answering questions because he was proud of his plan, and Wormtail knew it.

"Master! Look he hit her with a stupefy! She's fallen! Why did he do that?" anxiety was obvious on the face of Wormtail as he watched the scene below him. Nothing registered on the face of the master, though. After all, a snake shows no emotion.

"The fool." Quiet anger resonated from the voice of Lord Voldemort.

"He's running!" cried Wormtail. "Rabastan is running away!"

People from inside the pub were rushing to the aid of the young girl who had collapsed on the front stoop of the dingy establishment. As one woman pushed the short blonde hair out of the girl's face, she heard the girl murmur two short words. 'Ginny Potter…" was all she said.

"Oh my!" exclaimed the stooped barkeep, Tom. He had just recognised the girl who had spent a lot of time in his pub the year before with a large group of young people. "Bring her inside and fix her up while some one sends for Mrs Potter."

"Gin, dear, are you alright?" asked Bill gently when he found his younger sister slouched miserably on a bed in one of the many spare rooms at the Order's headquarters.

"No!" cried Ginny, throwing herself into her older brother's arms as he sat down beside her. "I'm barely seventeen, pregnant with the child of the great Harry Potter, the boy who lives no more or no longer or whatever they're calling him now. And he had to go missing and I'm scared that he won't come back, and I'm scared because I'm all alone and mostly I'm scared for my child! This baby is going to grow up and probably have to save the world just like it's idiot git of a father!" she sobbed.

"There, there, Gin-Gin." Bill soothed her.

"Oh, Bill, I miss him so much!"

"I'd worry if you didn't." replied Bill.

"I'm so scared! I can't do this, I can't have a baby, not with out Harry here. I need him!" she cried, a little calmer than before, but not by much.

"You don't have to do it alone!" Bill assured her. "You've got Mum and Dad and Fleur and I. You've got Charlie, the twins, Ro-…, uh, Hermione. Even Tonks and Lupin will want to help. Everyone who loves you and Harry will be there for you and the baby."

"I know Bill, but really the baby will only have me and I'll only have it. And it wasn't supposed to be like that. We were supposed to have Harry." Ginny sighed.

"I love you, Gin. Tell me any time you need me." Bill said as he gave his melancholy sister another hug before leaving the room.

Ginny was nearly ready to break down in tears again when an unfamiliar owl swooped through the open window, dropping it's note on top of Ginny before swooping out again.

"Mrs. Potter, (Ginny nearly began to cry again)

A friend of yours, a girl who's name I believe to be Angel, is currently at my pub recovering from what appears to be a bad fall. She has been asking for you and so I was hoping that you might be able to come by and pick her up.

Tom, Leaky Caldron proprietor"

"Oh my gosh!" cried Ginny as she yelled for Hermione, who had been standing outside Ginny's doors talking to Juliet, Sammy, Tory, Luke and Zack. The seven young people Apparated to the pub and rushed to Angel's side. They looked at the nasty bump on her head and watched her small stirrings as they tried to decide where to take her. In the end, they decided that Molly Weasley was probably almost as qualified as any mediwizard, and decided to take Angle to her.

As the boys started to lift her, Angel's dark eyes shot open. "Must tell Ginny… fight… Death Eaters… Harry hurt… must tell Ginny… Nate and Ron gone…Harry too…"

"Where did they go? Are they alive?" Ginny screeched, but already Angel was asleep, much deeper this time.

"Could they be alive?" asked Ginny faintly.

"Oh, Gin, sweetie, I don't think so." Sammy crooned as she wrapped Ginny in a hug meant to comfort.

Somehow though, Ginny felt more as if her friend were holding her back from Harry rather than comforting her.

**A/N **And so there is the incredibly long over due new chapter of my fic. Sorry about the wait. I kinda lost enthusiasm for this story when I was hit by a couple brilliant ideas for things of my own that I want to write.


	4. Chapter 4 Dreaming of Baby

From: Toghgal ()

-------------------

harry's ok right he not dead is he?

-------------------

If this were a signed review, I would have been able to reply sooner, which would have meant that I would have had something useful to say to you, Toghgal, but as it stands, I can only say read on and you will find your answer! (Sorry, but I swear that this chapter will clear up your question for sure!)

And thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

QK

**Chapter Four**

**Dreaming of Baby**

Harry Potter lay in bed beside his young wife, half asleep and completely content. Ginny was snuggled at his side, and it was warm under the covers. Not one sound disturbed the peaceful night. Then came a plaintive cry from down the hall. Harry listened as the sound continued, then eased out of bed to investigate. Down the dark hallway he went, until he came to the door of the second bedroom in their cozy house. Harry pushed open the door and slipped in.

As soon as the door opened, the crying stopped. Harry looked around, surprised to see that this didn't look at all like either of the guest bedrooms of his home. The widow was on the wrong wall, there were unfamiliar stars and moons painted on the pale blue walls and instead of a fold out couch that doubled as a bed, the dominant piece of furniture in the room was a gorgeous honey-brown crib. Inside the crib was the one responsible for the crying that had brought Harry out of bed in the first place.

Harry walked to the crib and looked in at the baby inside. Bright green eyes and even brighter red hair greeted him. Thin arms were thrown up as the baby begged to be picked up. Harry did as the child wanted, shocked and yet not shocked to find this child in his house. The little girl he held was familiar and foreign to him at the same time. Harry loved the way she cuddled into his chest and started to fall asleep.

"You've got it so easy, Potter." Ginny complained from the doorway "All you have to do is walk in the room and she's happy. She never settled down this well while you were gone." Ginny came to stand with her arm around her husband's waist and they both gazed lovingly at their daughter.

"Did I tell you that tomorrow I'm taking Ja…" The room started to slip away. First the walls around them faded into greyness, then went Ginny's voice, then Ginny was gone. Harry tried to hold onto his little girl, but she quickly slipped from his grasp. When it had all faded away, Harry sat up, panicking, and felt the hard rock beneath him and the thin blanket over him. He wanted to get up and run away, to try and escape back to the happy place where his dream had gone, but he couldn't.

Both his broken leg and the threat of being found kept him where he was.

"Are you sure you don't want to know if it's a boy or a girl?" asked Hermione as she flipped through the thick spell book that Mrs Weasley had given the girls the month before. "There's probably fifty spells in here that would tell you."

"I like surprises." Ginny told Hermione as she wiped up the counters in the kitchen of the house where the two girls had been living for the past three weeks. "Besides, I have a feeling that I know already."

"Really?" asked Hermione with a sceptically raised brow.

"Yes, I do." The younger witch told the elder one as she ripped a pathetic strand of holly from its place above the fridge.

"Not going to tell me which you think it is?" asked Hermione as she got up to help Ginny.

"Nope." Ginny's reply came out a little strained as she reached up to pull down the piece of spell-o-tape that had been holding the holly up. One hand rested on her slightly protruding belly and the other was extended way above her head before Ginny got the offending sticky tape down.

"Have you thought about names?" Hermione inquired gingerly, hoping she wasn't about to upset Ginny.

"Well, I was thinking that Harry would like, I mean _would have_ liked, me to name his first born and likely only child after one of his parents, but this baby may be my only child too. I always planned on having at least two children and naming them after my parents…"

"Don't worry, Gin, you've got nearly eight months to decide." Hermione comforted her as she helped Ginny to finish banishing the last of the decorations.

As they slowly cleaned up the decorations, neither Ginny nor Hermione was quite sure if they should be mad at Fluer, Bill and their daughter, Monique, for putting them up in the first place. This was the first Christmas Hermione had spent without her two best friends since her second year at Hogwarts, and Ginny couldn't begin to believe that her pesky, annoying, older brother was never going to buy her another bad present ever again. It hurt twice as much to give up her wonderful dreams of Christmas with Harry.

On Christmas day, after a great deal of persuading, both Ginny and Hermione had joined the rest of the Weasleys and several Order members, including the newest ones, those who had once been Harry's only help in the Horcux hunt, for what had been a very depressing dinner. The two girls had stayed for only a few minutes after the conclusion of the meal, fleeing back to their apartment. They had come home and started ripping down the decorations that could easily be reached. Then they had collapsed on their couch and cried together, mourning their lost loves.

The next morning, neither girl had mentioned the previous night, or even the holiday to each other. But since then, they had both been a little less depressed and the atmosphere of the house a little less unhappy. Over the last four days, Hermione and Ginny had come to the silent agreement that no mention of the past or those they had lost would be made. They would concentrate on the future, on Ginny's baby, on their new home and on being happy.

Ginny sighed as the same thoughts of Harry that had run through her head every day since she had said goodbye to him came again. No matter if it got a little easier every day to pretend to forget about him, Ginny knew that she would always, always think about him. Nothing could erase the memory of her husband.

It seemed as though years had passed since two of her sons had gone missing, but Molly Weasley knew that only been a month. She had spent much of that time holding back tears and forcing herself not to forbid her remaining children from ever leaving her sight. At night the nightmares of her family dying off one person at a time had worsened to the point where she sometimes wouldn't go to bed at all. When she did, Molly lay awake for hours, trying not to disturb her husband.

Through the day, Molly had at first tried to act normally. But ever since their horrible Christmas dinner, she had found herself less capable of pretending. She would stop what she was doing and just stare into space, thinking of her missing two sons, one with her own red hair, the other, just as dear to her, with messy black locks.

Besides memories of her missing sons, Molly often worried over her other children, most particularly those two she considered daughters. They seemed to be getting along well enough on the outside, but they almost seemed to be handling their loses too well…

And then there was the thing that Molly Weasley worried over the most: her seventeen-year-old daughter's pregnancy. How was her last born supposed to raise a child when she still was one herself? And alone, just to make matters worse.

"Molly, darling, are you coming to bed?" asked Arthur gently, leaning into the doorway of the kitchen, looking in at his wife who was sitting lost in thought at the long table.

"Oh, yes…" she replied vaguely, shaking the memories from her as she got up. Molly followed her husband into the front hallway, and from there to the first floor bedroom that they occupied at the Order's Headquarters.

Nearly three hours after she had laid down, Molly finally fretted herself into sleep, expecting the nightmare to over take her again. But this night, Molly dreamed a different dream, one that should have been less scary than the one that haunted her so long, but some how it was worse…

As Molly watched, Ginny, pale, underfed and sickly, paced a small, dingy space that looked much like a large broom cupboard with a bed, crib, stove and a few other necessities squished in. As she walked, Ginny clutched a squalling baby to her chest, looking worried as she tried to soothe the infant. It was obvious that Ginny didn't know what to do for her child, but Molly knew. She knew that her grandchild wanted to be fed. Molly tried to tell Ginny, but the girl didn't even look at her.

So Molly went to the cupboards that were squashed in between a small bed and the stove and looked in them, in search of food. There was none.

Molly looked around, trying to find something for the other two to eat, but there was nothing, nothing at all.

The baby sobbed louder and Molly looked harder, turning around and around, hoping to spot a new place to look, but all that happened was that she woke up. Sweat streaked her brow, and tears made tracks down her cheeks, and Arthur had his arms around her. Molly leaned against him sobbing for nearly an hour before she could even tell her husband what she had dreamed.

Ginny Potter woke up at 5:43 am on the last day of December, feeling very, very happy. She had had a marvellous dream of walking in a garden with her husband and their three children. The sun was warm and the day was pleasant, and they were spending it as a family. Harry had held her hand, kissed her lightly on the cheek, laughed as they pushed the baby's stroller together, all the while watching the antics of there older children.

Ginny lay happily thinking of her dream for a full minute before she remembered that it could never come true. Then a few silent tears wet her cheeks as she got up and gave up on sleep for another day.

**A/N: **And so here is another chapter, this one courtesy of the snow day that allowed me to type it up! Hope you all like it, please review if you have the time. I hope that another update not too far away. It depends when I can next wrestle the computer from my younger siblings for a decent amount of time… lol.

QK


	5. Chapter 5 Angel's Problem

**Chapter Five**

**Angel's Problem**

Angel De Vita sat curled up, wrapped in a blanket, staring down at her book. She wasn't reading, she was thinking. Angel had been doing that a lot lately. Often she thought of her boyfriend, Nate Deneenan and the two others who had gone missing with him. She was apparently the only one to survive their trip to Egypt, yet she felt as if she was missing something. She really didn't think that the others were dead…

With a sigh, Angel once again tried to convince herself that she was just in denial. She wanted to be able to accept the truth and not constantly feel as though she should be doing something, going somewhere. Angel sometimes strained to remember what had happened in Egypt, how she had come to be on the steps of the Leaky Caldron, but all she came up with was a vague sense of having some message that had to be delivered.

Angel had decided it was best not to really think about those things. So long as she remembered to look sad whenever Nate, Ron or Harry were mentioned, no one suspected that she had her doubts about how dead they were. Angel found it difficult to be around Ginny with out trying to tell her that she didn't really believe that Harry was dead, but Angel wasn't even certain of it herself. She wanted to comfort Ginny and Hermione, but she didn't want to raise false hopes.

Everything was so confusing, and until recently, Angel's head had hurt horribly most of the time where it had struck the ground outside the pub. She didn't know what to think, and the others were treating her strangely. Angel had the feeling that Zack and Luke at least, and possibly some of the girls were secretly guarding her, just as Harry had ordered them to do to Ginny.

At least, that's what Angel hoped accounted for the feeling she kept getting of eyes watching her…

With another sigh, Angel set aside her book and forced herself to think about where her roommates were. Tory was with Zack, at the small house that Ginny and Hermione lived in. Juliet was in her room, getting ready for a date with a new wizard she had just met. Juliet gushed about him constantly, but Angel couldn't remember more about him than the fact he had some sort of funny sounding name. Angel thought that Sammy and Luke might be at the boy's place across the hall, but then, they might just as easily be watching her door, taking care of the duty to watch out for her that they had appointed themselves.

Normally Angel would have been very upset by the behaviour her friends were exhibiting, but really, except for a mild guilt that she was taking away from the guard that Harry had ordered for Ginny, it was nice to think that some one was watching out for her. And the fact that she was thinking that way told Angel that she had better have some one close because she was clearly not over her head injury. She knew that she would soon have to send her friends on their way if she ever wanted them to leave her alone. If she let them go on as they were, Angel would never be able to convince them that she could still take care of herself.

Another sigh, and Angel gave up the pretext of not thinking about her missing memories and her absent friends. Until she knew for certain what had happened to them, they would never be dead to Angel and she would never be able to really concentrate on anything else.

Along with the many, many other varied emotions that Ginny Potter, nee Weasley, was feeling, lately a large dose of guilt had been added.

Ginny knew she had been selfish lately. After all, Angel had been through more lately than anyone else. She too had lost good friends and her boyfriend, plus she was recovering from a nasty fall and trying to remember what had happened in Egypt, and Ginny had only visited her a hand full of times since she had dropped her off at her apartment.

What made it all even worse was the Ginny hadn't been visiting her friend for a very selfish reason. The whole of Diagon Alley, where Angel still lived with Sammy, Tory and Juliet, reminded Ginny too much of Harry. The streets reminded her of shopping with him when she had only been his best friend's little sister, not the girl he loved, not his wife. The building that housed Harry's small flat, the one where he had lived after leaving the Weasley's, reminded her of the first night they had been back together after their yearlong separation. Even the flat that belonged to Angel and her friends, and the one that belonged to Zack and Luke, reminded Ginny of her lost love, and she had never been inside them until after Harry had disappeared!

Ginny squared her shoulders when she found that she had been standing and contemplating the door of the girls flat for at least five minutes. Sure she felt bad about abandoning Angel, but did Ginny really want to be around anyone now?

With a sigh, Ginny raised her hand and knocked, entering when Angel opened the door, looking slightly surprised to see the red haired girl.

"Hi." Ginny managed, wishing she could think of something else to say. Surely if Angel picked Ginny of all the people she knew in London to call on when she was hurt on the stoop of the Leaky Caldron, then Ginny could come up with something better to say to her than 'hi'. "How's your head?"

Sure, that was better. Yeah, right.

"Pretty much better. Do you want to sit down?" Angel asked as she lead the way to the couch in the living room. She ran a hand through her messy blonde hair, showing the smallest signs of sensing the undercurrent of awkwardness that ran through the room.

Once they were seated facing each other from opposite ends of the same couch, the silence took on a slightly more panicked aspect. Surely _one _of them could think of something better to say. But Angel couldn't think of a thing to say, and so she looked all around her, finally focusing on the other occupant of the room. Her eyes caught for a second on Ginny's slightly bulging belly. With her small frame, Ginny had been fast to show. Then Angel's eyes stopped on the younger girls slightly hollow cheeks, and the dark circles that outlined her brown eyes.


	6. Chapter 6: Plans to Escape

**Chapter Six**

**Plans to Escape**

Ginny looked down at her daughter. Somehow her baby's birth had made Harry's death real in a way nothing else had. Ginny would be eighteen in a 10 days time, but the birthday she was truly thinking about was the one that happened on July 31st, the one that was shared by Harry Potter and his daughter.

Ginny looked down at the day old pink bundle in her arms, starting to wonder in the name she had chosen was maybe a little big for such a scrap of a girl. Yet, at the same time, as the startling green eyes gazed up at her, Ginny knew it fit. Her daughter truly was Jamison Lilia Molly Artemisia Weasley-Potter. There had been so many names that Ginny knew Harry would have wanted her to use, so many that she wanted to give her daughter, that Ginny had chosen the four that would mean the most to Harry and herself. Still, Ginny knew that others would find the name silly, but then, she planned to call her daughter Jamie.

Ginny hadn't told anyone her daughter's name yet, not even Hermione, who had come to be even more her best friend in the last few months. Right now, the name was like a secret she shared with her daughter. Ginny stared down into the solemn green eyes, stroking the already messy black locks. The tiny baby was so precious, the only real proof that Harry Potter had lived, that he had loved his wife. Jamie would also be a very famous little girl, even if her father had failed his last mission.

That is, if there was even a wizarding left when Voldemort was through with it.

Ginny shook off that thought, trying to block out all the rumours of panic and riots that had come since the disappearance of her husband eight months before. It seemed people were losing hope, becoming desperate, when their hero died. _Despite the fact that they so easily condemned him when he was just a boy, trying to save them all, _though Ginny, a little bitterly. It always hurt to think that the boy she loved so much would never survive to see real happiness. It hurt even more to think of all the pain that he had suffered since just after his first birthday.

But Ginny pushed away the thoughts of how her dead lover. Usually she tried not to dwell on him this much, but when her daughter had been born on his birthday, all she could think about had been how that would have been their day. How special Harry would have thought it that he had become a father on his nineteenth birthday. Then Ginny thought of how terrible it was that he never saw his nineteenth birthday, or his twentieth, or thirtieth…

Again, Ginny forced her thoughts from Harry, and how much she loved and missed him. She knew that there was no way that he would have missed his daughter's birth if he had been alive, and maybe that's what finally convinced her that he was really gone.

Ginny's mind flashed back to several months before when Angel had asked her a question that totally ripped her carefully made mask apart.

"_Ginny, do you ever think… that maybe they're still alive?" _

_Ginny's red head had snapped up, and white-hot hope had blossomed in her chest. "Still alive? Did you remember something?" Please, please say she's remembered, and Harry's coming back, Ginny had thought._

"_No, not exactly…"_

"_Oh," said Ginny, defeated and deflated again. Her hope died again, and she had to fight the bile that rose in her throat. Her hope sank a little further than it had been when she came in, and suddenly all Ginny wanted was to be alone, where she could break down…_

Ginny had hurried off, and when she reached the bathroom in the dingy Leaky Caldron, her stomach had emptied itself like it had down so many times since she had become pregnant, but this time for a different reason…

Ginny shook her self, forcing herself to look away from the past and instead down at her daughter. There were few good things to look back on in the last few months, but Ginny was determined to change that for her daughter. There would only be good things for the tiny baby in her arms. Ginny knew she would do whatever it took to ensure a happy child hood for her daughter.

It was then that Ginny knew that she couldn't bring her new baby back to the gloomy flat she had been sharing with Hermione. Even though he had never been there, that place was full to the brim with Harry. She had shed to many tears over him there, wallowed over too many memories of him there for it to be any other way.

It also dawned on Ginny that she would probably do better to move out on her own, get away from Hermione, who reminded her of Harry and Ron. Maybe she would go to one of her other brothers…

No, there were to many memories there as well. Besides, Ginny didn't want to saddle anyone else with a crying newborn. She had to get out on her own, and she could do it. Harry had left all his money to her; she could dip into some of it, move far away, and start a new life for herself and Jamie. That's what Ginny would do. She'd go to Gringotts, take out a big sum of money and just leave.

Maybe they could go to one of the houses that she and Harry had never lived in…

The trouble with that was that she didn't really know anything about the property that her husband had inherited. She knew that there were several houses, including number 12 Grimmauld Place, and the current Order head quarters. She thought that he might have mentioned something about a family home, besides the one that had been destroyed in Godric's Hollow, but she wasn't certain. Maybe it would be better to just find a small village somewhere and buy a new house. After all, she had not only the Potter fortune but also the Black one as well at her disposal.

True, she wanted to save as much as she could for her daughter, but if she had to spend a little to set them up, then that was fine with her. Ginny's real problem would be breaking it to her family and friends that she was moving.

Ginny sighed, knowing that she should tell them right away, but deciding instead to put her plans into action. With that settled in her mind, Ginny snuggled back into her bed in a hospital room at St Mungo's, contentedly watching the little daughter who was already the centre of her life.

"Are you sure you're alright, Harry?" asked Ron Weasley as he watched his best friend walk out of the cave that had been their home for many months.

"I'm fine," ground out Harry, despite the slight pain shooting through his leg. "Let's just go find that damn Horcrux so that I can get back to Ginny. She's probably fit to be tied."

"I'm surprised that Hedwig didn't swoop down on us months ago. Why did you leave your owl with her?" asked Nate Deneenan, also exiting the cave.

"Well, I figured Ginny would be able to use her more, plus this way Hedwig can't end up hurt." Harry replied as he took careful steps down the mountainside, with only the moon to guide him.

"You have a real thing about protecting people." Ron said as he followed Harry.

"Got a problem with that, Weasley?" asked Harry tersely.

"Nah, I was actually just thinking that I'm glad you're the one who married my sister."

"Here's the map, the keys, the counter charms for all the wards and the spell that will summon all the help, Mrs Potter. Griphook has your gold waiting for you," said the goblin, handing Ginny a bulging envelope so large that she had to shift Jamie to her other arm to accommodate it.

"Thank you," she replied, still a little shocked. Could their really be a mansion waiting for her out in the country side?

"Not at all, Mrs Potter."

When Ginny arrived at her mother's home a half hour later, she had gone to shocked to very happy that her problems had been so easily solved. It seemed so odd that Harry had never lived in the old family home that his parents had left him, yet Ginny knew that Harry had a thirst to prove himself that may have driven him to want a home that was his own. Or maybe he simply hadn't known about it. The papers that Ginny know clutched had looked as though they had been in that filling cabinet for years.

"Ginny, where ever did you go, child?" Mrs Weasley fretted as she spotted Ginny in the kitchen of the Headquarters. The place seemed to be becoming Mr and Mrs Weasley's home now, and Ginny knew that Harry would have been thrilled.

"I was at the bank, mum." Ginny stated, feeling as though it was best to start right off the bat.

"Why ever did you take little Jamie with you?" she cried. "I would have minded her for you."

"I know mom, but I think I should try and rely on myself as much as I can. After all, after I move tomorrow, I won't have you or Hermione or anyone else to mind Jamie whenever I go somewhere." Ginny took a deep breath.

"Move? Why on earth are you moving?" cried Mrs Weasley, slightly panicked.

"Because I need to make a new life for Jamie and I away from all this. Away from the depression and the memories. I can't keep dwelling on the past and raise my daughter too. I need to do this on my own."

"But Ginny dear, you're only seventeen!"

"I might only be seventeen, but I'm old enough to have a baby, and I'm mature enough to look after her."

"You're still a child yourself!" exclaimed Mrs Weasley desperately. She could not lose her last baby and her grandchild.

"Mum, I haven't been a child since my first year of Hogwarts. I wasn't a child after Riddle possessed me, or when I really fell in love with Harry or when I slept with him or when I married him. And even if I was, when my husband di…died… I grew up!" Ginny said, on the verge of tears.

When Jamie sensed her mother's upset, she started to whimper. "Shhhh, dear, Mummy's here, I'm okay, and we're okay."

"What about Hermione? Aren't you worried about her? She lost her best friend and the love of her life, and I'm not sure she's dealing with it well-" argued Mrs Weasley.

"I know she's not dealing well, but that's up to Hermione. I can't take Jamie into that flat, not with Harry's ghost and Ron's ghost hanging over everything! I won't do that to my baby!" Ginny felt the tears on her face, but she knew that she had to keep going. If she stopped here, then she knew that her mother would convince her to stay and that she would regret it but never again work up the courage to go.

"But aren't you… don't you… worry-" stuttered Mrs Weasley.

"What I'm most worried about is forcing my body guard to stay behind. I know for a fact that Sammy and Luke are in the living room right now, listening to us." Ginny said, for once grateful for the unwanted guard that would keep Mrs Weasley from yelling too loudly, if she were inclined to do so.

"Ginny, baby, don't go," begged Mrs Weasley.

"We'll visit," was all Ginny sadly said before sheApparated to the home she had shared with Hermione.

In the kitchen on the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, Molly Weasley collapsed crying, and wondering how her children had gotten so far from her. Bill and Charlie lived in foreign countries, Percy lived in London, and though he had made up with the family, he still worked constantly. The twins, who had always been independent anyway, now lived above their shop when not on assignment for the order. Ron was gone forever, Harry, too.

Now she was losing Ginny, and she felt that there were bad times to come for the other witch who had been like her daughter for so many years.

**A/N **And here is another chapter, only a day after I last updated! (Am I good or what? lol) This one is about three hundred words longer than the last, too! And just so you know, there are probably a few more leaps of time to come.

I just wanted to thank all the wonderful, wonderful people who review, and those who just read my stories!

QK


	7. Chap7:Hermione'sMistake and aLetter2Late

**Chapter Seven**

**Hermione's Mistake and a Letter **

**Too Late**

Hermione watched as Ginny left on her last trip to her new home, envying the girl. The tiny seventeen year old was still gorgeous despite the dark circles under her eyes and she was rail thin despite the fact that she had just given birth. Plus Ginny was moving on and that was something Hermione couldn't seem to manage.

Suddenly Hermione decided that it had to stop. She couldn't go on pretending that she was over Ron, she had to get over Ron. She refused to ever envy any one else again. Hermione would go out and be the one that others envied. With that, Hermione stood up and walked to her closet, pulling out clothes. She couldn't seem to find anything that fit the mood she was in, so she took out a black skirt and shortened it with her wand. Liking that effect, she grabbed a t-shirt and shrank it so it was tight and midriff bearing.

And then Hermione Granger went out to try and find someone to take her mind off Ron Weasley, who was, after all, dead.

Ginny stood in the grand entrance hall of the Potter family mansion and decided that she had made a mistake.

She could not live in this enormous, empty house, with only a small baby for company. So she left.

Ginny took her daughter and started walking. She walked the half-mile into town and looked around. There wasn't a lot in to the small village, but there was a small inn. That was where Ginny headed. She spent the night there with Jamie and in the morning, she went back to the mansion, and rifled through their things until she found some information about a small cottage that Harry had been left by Sirius. She read through it and decided it was perfect. So Ginny gathered the absolute necessities to her and Apparated to the coordinates provided.

After several more trips, Ginny had all the things that she needed and thought she could fit in the small home. Then Ginny called on Dobby, the house elf that Harry had told her to summon if she needed one. When he appeared with a crack, Ginny offered him a chair.

"Dobby, how would you like to work for me?" she asked.

"Oh it would be a great honour, Ginny Potter!" he squeaked in excitement.

"That's good, because I could use some help. Jamie and I want to live here, but the place hasn't been cleaned in years." Ginny smiled, relieved.

"Who is Jamie?" Dobby asked.

"My daughter," replied Ginny with a smile, showing Dobby the sleeping baby in the cradle beside her.

"Can it be? The daughter of the great Harry Potter!" he cried in excitement.

"Yes, she is." This time Ginny's smile was sad.

Late the same night that Ginny left, Hermione unlocked the front door to her apartment and led a tall man with red hair in, pulling him straight to her bedroom. He kissed her fiercely, and she kissed him back, wanting so badly to loose herself. He ripped off her clothes, and she returned the favour. Her hands explored, she threw back her head as he sucked on her neck.

Then his mouth dipped down to massage one breast while his hand mimicked to motion on her other. Hermione moaned, running her hands through his orange-red locks. His mouths found her other nipple, and one hand went to the other breast as his other hand snaked lower, tangling in brown curls. His fingers briefly invaded her slick opening, and then he withdrew and replaced his digits with his erection. Her hips jumped to meet his first stroke and he quickly built the pressure. He exploded inside her and then collapsed atop her.

He laid breathing heavily on her, and the tears started to pour down Hermione's face. This wasn't right, this wasn't how this was supposed to be.

And this was definitely not _who _it was supposed to be.

Harry wanted Ginny. That was all there was to it. He wanted to be inside her, he wanted to talk to her, he wanted to hold her. He was nearly ready to give up the Horcrux hunt, though there was only one left before he faced Voldemort and his snake, and just go home to Ginny and burry himself in her warmth.

But he couldn't. He couldn't go back because if he gave up, there was no one to pass the torch to, there was no one to take over. That was why Harry didn't even dare to go back for a short time. He knew he wouldn't be able to leave her again. And so he wrote a letter.

_Dearest,_

_I'm so sorry I've been away so long. I didn't want to stay away, but there was no way I could leave without jeopardizing the others. I love you and can't wait to be back in your arms, safe and home. _

_I've dreamed of coming home to you since I left your side. There were other dreams too; some of the future, when we settle down and the obstacles in our way are all beaten. When that time comes, I'll never leave your side. _

_Some of my dreams are not so innocent. Sometimes I can think only of being back in your bed. Or on the sofa, or on an airplane, or in that hotel room we stayed in when we visited your brother. Anywhere would do, so long as we're there together._

_But that is all that can be said for now. I won't endanger you by sending you details. I think that the enemy is about, and so do the others. They all send their love, as do I._

_I doubt that I will be able to write you again. Thinking of home is too painful, and I think that I will have to concentrate fully on my duty just to keep from running home to you. The others feel the same, and they want you to tell those at home that they love them, but that we feel its best that we stay out of contact. That's safest, for both you and us. _

_Love always,_

_Your devoted husband_

Harry hoped that he had gotten his point across, though his letter was devoid enough of details. Tears ran down his cheeks as he sealed the letter and put it aside until he could find an owl to deliver it. He almost regretted writing, his heart hurt so much, but he thought that he should send this letter on, just so Ginny would not worry so much when she got no letters.

"You alright, Harry?" Ron asked him yet again.

"Yeah," Harry said like he did every time he was asked that awful question. "Can I borrow Pig?"

"I dunno, I was going to send him home. I was thinking about what you said about Hedwig at least being safe, and I thought Hermione might like the company," Ron replied sheepishly.

"That's fine. I just thought that we owed those at home a letter to let them know we're still alive."

"Right, then. Just add a note that says they should keep Pig." Ron told Harry as he handed over the owl.

Harry scrawled a short postscript on his letter.

_PS the owner of this owl wants his girlfriend to keep him. Just as well, really. I rather doubt that he's up to one long trip, let alone two. Don't be surprised if this takes forever to find you, I'm pretty sure the owl we've got will get lost. Take good care of yourself, and my owl. Love you so much._

Ginny stared down at the note in her hands. She had almost believed for a moment that the letter could truly mean that Harry was alive. But there was no way that that could be true. Pig looked thoroughly wild, as though he had been flying for at least the eight months since anyone had last heard from Harry. Besides, Angel had said she remembered an attack, and Harry would have mentioned if they had recovered from that, even in his vague attempt to give her news without detail.

Pig had probably just taken his time getting to her. Harry was dead; she knew that now, though she hadn't accepted it at first.

**A/N: **Third chapter in two days! Aren't you all proud of me!


	8. Chapter 8: Dealing with Mistakes

**Chapter Eight**

**Dealing with Mistakes**

Ginny sighed, looking around her new home. The place was clean and cozy now, with all her things and Jamie's neatly put away. Dobby had finished the lunch dishes and supper wouldn't have to be started for hours. There was only one pressing matter to take care of, and Ginny hated to do what had to be done. Returning Pig to Hermione was likely to be a heart-rending experience, one she would rather not be part of.

Yet Ginny knew that Hermione would want Pig. So she bundled up Jamie, packed a bag of diapers and toys and everything her newborn would need and told Dobby where she was going. Then Ginny Apparated to her former home, holding both her daughter and the tiny owl.

"Hermione!" she called, looking around the dark flat.

"I'm here," the other witch called from her bedroom, wiping her eyes as she came out.

"Are you alright?" Ginny asked worriedly.

"Umm, yeah," the other witch tried, "Do you want a drink or anything?"

"Hermione, what's wrong?" asked Ginny, more insistently this time.

"Oh, Ginny! I, I… I'm pregnant!" she cried, collapsing to the sofa and bursting into tears.

"What? Who… oh, Hermione!" Ginny sat down beside the other girl, throwing a comforting arm around her. Ginny thought quickly, then caught Hermione's attention "Sweetie, I'm going to go drop Jamie off with my mother, then I'll be right back. Okay?"

Hermione nodded as Ginny bustled off to deposit her daughter, forgetting entirely about the tiny owl that was twittering around the ceiling. When Ginny was gone, Hermione tried to stay calm, looking around the room for some sort of distraction. It was then that her eyes lit on Pig.

"Oh!" she gasped, not sure what else to say. Hermione suddenly was attacked by memories of Ron and the tiny owl, from the dress robes that he had been wont to throw over the owl's cage. She started to cry again, and she was in quite a state when Ginny got back.

After nearly an hour, Hermione was calm enough to speak again. Ginny explained about the letter she had received, and how she was sure that it was months and months old. Then the two drank some tea that Ginny had made, and Hermione began to talk.

"It was the day that you left. I was feeling sorry for myself, and suddenly all I wanted was to forget all about everything, pretend that I hadn't just lost the love of my life and my best friend all at once. So I went to a pub. I met a guy there. His name was Matt or something. We… came back here. After we were… done, I felt horrible… and then I woke up this morning and…and threw up! So I started thinking about you and how you were always throwing up, so I did the spell and, and, and… I'm pregnant!" wailed Hermione.

"Okay. Well, we can deal with this. Do you want to keep it?" asked Ginny, trying to be clinical.

"Yes! I never even thought about not…" Hermione trailed off, "Maybe I shouldn't?"

"It's up to you…" Ginny was torn between anger that Hermione had been so disloyal to her brother, and thinking how much the baby could mean to Hermione.

"I don't think I could get rid of it. That would just seem so wrong. This baby never did anything to deserve that."

"Okay, are you going to tell the, uh… father?" Ginny asked.

"Even if I could find him, I don't think I would want to. This baby is mine."

Ginny had guessed Hermione would feel that way. "So… what are you going to tell people?" she asked, running out of questions.

"I don't know… Mrs Weasley will be so upset!" cried Hermione.

"I don't think so. She'll understand." Ginny soothed, even though she knew that she would have to go to her mother before Hermione did and tell her to be understanding.

"Really?" asked Hermione desperately.

"Yes." Ginny replied with absolute certainty.

Molly Weasley was cooing over her little granddaughter when her daughter appeared in the fire. Mrs Weasley turned to her, a little sad that the baby would be leaving now, and wishing again that Ginny hadn't felt it necessary to move to some undisclosed location.

"Mum, I need to talk to you quickly." Ginny said urgently.

"What is it dear?"

"Hermione will be here in about five minutes to tell you something very shocking. You have to be supportive of her! She needs you and the rest of this family, and she knows she made a mistake." Despite Ginny's serious look, Mrs Weasley thought she had to joking. Hermione was so level headed, what sort of mistake could she make that would cause Ginny to act this way? There was very little the witch could do that would make Mrs Weasley stop thinking of her as a daughter.

"Is Hermione alright?"

"Just promise you'll be supportive, mum, just promise!" begged Ginny as she looked up at the clock.

"I will, but what's this about?" asked Mrs Weasley.

"I'll let Hermione tell you," was all Ginny would say as she went over to her baby daughter. As she cuddled the sweet little girl to her, Ginny could only think how lucky she was to have had the child of the boy she loved. She couldn't imagine being in Hermione's heart-breaking position.

The flash of emerald flames announced Hermione's presence to the occupants of the kitchen. As she stumbled out of the fireplace, Ginny noticed that Hermione had cleaned up since she had left the older girl. Her hair was washed, brushed and tied back, and she had changed into nice jeans and a pretty jumper.

"Mrs Weasley, I have something to tell you," she said, looking slightly pale.

"Ginny mentioned something you had to say. I'll make some tea and we can sit down while Ginny plays with the baby." Mrs Weasley offered as she bustled around the room, finally settling down at the table across from Hermione when the tea was done. "Now then, dear, go ahead."

And so Hermione told Mrs Weasley, the woman who had been sort of like her second mother for many years. She was so worried about how Mrs Weasley would react; Hermione had only spared the briefest of thoughts for telling her own parents. She hadn't been really close to them ever, and even less so since she had started attending Hogwarts. The Weasley were such a loud and demonstrative bunch that she had felt part of their family quickly. She still loved her parents and they loved her, but they didn't understand her or her world like the Weasley's did.

"I'm sorry, dear," Mrs Weasley sad quietly.

"You don't need to be sorry for me! Ginny's a single mother, and I'm sure that I can manage too-" but Mrs Weasley cut off Hermione's indignant tirade quickly.

"You misunderstood me. I meant I was sorry that I wasn't there for you when you needed some one. I was so distracted by thinking of Ginny moving away, and how miserable I was, that I forgot to think about how it would affect you. That's what I'm sorry for. You're just so strong most of the time that I forget you probably need even more protecting than the rest of my children." Mrs Weasley held Hermione's hands in her own as she spoke, and all three witches were in tears when she finished.

"What do you suppose they thought of that letter?" Ron asked Harry late one night a month after it had been sent.

"I don't know. I keep wishing I had remembered to say happy birthday in it. Then she would have known about when I sent the letter." Harry sighed, turning to face Ron in his bedroll.

"It probably wouldn't have reached them by her birthday. It was what, the day before when you sent it?" Ron said through a yawn.

"Two days, actually. Did you know, I've been married a year and a month and I've probably spent a total of about five weeks with my wife?" sighed Harry.

"Nope. Ginny probably has it calculated down to the minute, though. You could be in a lot of trouble when we get back." Ron said before rolling over and starting to snore.

"Hermione's probably not very happy with you either," muttered Harry as he to went to sleep.

Ginny cuddled her daughter to her as the baby fell asleep. For so long Ginny had concentrated on how awful it was that Harry wasn't with them, but now her view was beginning to change. She still yearned for Harry to come back, but now it seemed more important that she had at least had Harry for a while and that she had his child. At least she had that, unlike Hermione.

Ginny was worried about Hermione. There was so much heartache surrounding her baby, even before the child was born. Ginny knew that Hermione was strong enough to take herself and the child, but she also knew that her friend would have the added burden of the guilt she was feeling over her 'disloyal' actions. Hermione would have a tough road to walk.

But then, Hermione would be quick to point out that Ginny herself didn't have the easiest path before her.

In fact, in her own home, Hermione was thinking along the same lines as Ginny. Hermione was thinking that it would be much harder for Ginny, knowing that had circumstances been different, she could have had the love of her life helping her to raise their child, but instead was doing it all alone. Hermione was almost positive that she was better off, since she had no particular attachment to the father, then she wouldn't spend time agonizing over missing him.

Not that she wasn't spending far too much time worrying over a long gone boy, it just happened that that boy wasn't the father of her unborn child.

**A/N: **So, here is another chapter. I'm not sure I like this one, it feels a little ramble-ish, considering that I don't really advance the plot much, but I'm kinda putting off writing the next part, b/c it's a tad on the depressing side…

Whatever, after boring you all with a useless chapter, I won't write a ridiculous author's note to make it even worse. Just bear with the story, and please ignore the tedium this one induces! I solemnly swear that the next will be better.

QK


	9. Chap 9: Partial Return

**Chapter Nine:**

**Partial Return**

"Mother, it's just not important for you to know where I live!" cried Ginny for what felt like the ten millionth time. As she spoke with her mother, she bounced her eight-month-old daughter on her hip and gathered their things in preparation for departure. It was time to end this visit before she ended up yelling again. Mrs Weasley just could not accept the fact that Ginny didn't want anyone intruding on the sanctuary she had carved out for herself and her baby.

Ginny had made sure that no memories were allowed to infiltrate and spoil the cozy home she had created for herself and Jamie. Her friends and family only reminded Ginny of the ones she had lost, and the young mother was determined to keep the spirits at bay, at least with in her own home. At first it had been easy enough. No one had pressed her for details for the first two months, but now that she had been living in her home for eight months, it was getting hard to explain why she was keeping everyone away.

"Mom, I'm going to check on Hermione," Ginny said, hoping to divert her mother's attention with concern for the other girl.

Ginny's ploy worked, and Mrs Weasley's brow wrinkled, now with worry, not frustration. "That's a good idea, dear. She really hasn't been herself since the miscarriage."

"Everything has been so hard for her. Actually, everyone's lives have been terrible highs and lows since they disappeared," Ginny sighed, trying to hard to not think of certain memories. This was the reason Ginny kept her family out of her home. They all represented the past and Harry.

"I know, dear. Now run along and check on Hermione now," Mrs Weasley said, kissing first her daughter, then her granddaughter before they left.

When Ginny arrived at Hermione's flat, she called her older friend, hoping that she would be at home. As luck happened to have it, Hermione was asleep in the bedroom that had once belonged to Ginny. Hermione had taken it over about two weeks after the miscarriage. That was also when she had begun to throw herself entirely into her work at the Ministry.

Since she had first started working there, Hermione had received promotions hand over first. In the horribly uncertain times when the disappearance of the 'boy who lived' had first come to light, the Ministry had needed every person they could get to control the magical population. Hermione knew how to do her job well and, particularly since she lost her baby, she was willing to work long hours. It seemed to the Weasley's that Hermione was never around, but she didn't much care.

At least when Hermione was working, she couldn't concentrate on Ron and the many mistakes she had made over the past year. She had just barely reached her twentieth birthday before she had lost a baby, one that wasn't the child of the only man she was likely to ever love fully. Ever since then, Hermione had been battling feelings of conflicting grief and relief, abandonment and disappointment in herself and an all encompassing sense of loneliness.

That horrible, bone-deep feeling only worsened when she was around those who had once been close to her. Ginny was usually the worst, because by all rights, she should be just as alone and miserable as Hermione herself was; yet the younger girl had her baby. She had the baby of the man she loved.

And then Hermione would feel terrible for thinking that way, for being jealous of what Ginny had. She would remind herself that being a single mother could not be easy, and that being a mother at all when you're seventeen would really be hard. Then Hermione would avoid Ginny for a while, partially because she felt bad for wishing that she could be in Ginny's place, and partially so she could forget about her own problems. Ginny only reminded Hermione of the ones she had lost. Gone was Ron, the love of her life, and gone was her other best friend, the one she had cried to when things with Ron were at their worst.

So when Ginny called her from the front hall, Hermione seriously considered pretending that she was a work. Instead she dragged herself from her blankets and pulled a robe over her nightshirt, feeling slightly ashamed that she wasn't dressed by eleven o'clock, even if it was a Saturday. Ginny had obliviously been up and about for a long while. "Hi," was all Hermione could manage, looking at the beautiful little girl who looked so like her father.

"Hi, Hermione, how are you?" asked Ginny, sitting down on the chair opposite Hermione on the couch in the den.

"Not bad," Hermione lied, knowing that she still had a long way to go before she reached 'not bad'.

"That's good," Ginny obviously didn't know what to say to Hermione anymore. Their relationship had become so strained of late. "How's work been?"

"Good," Hermione replied, both relieved and upset that all they ever talked about anymore were safe, neutral topics like work. "How's Jamie doing?"

Ginny ignored the fact that Hermione really needn't ask after the baby who was playing on the floor a few feet from her, and replied "Really well, though since she started to crawl, things have gotten difficult. She gets into everything."

"You must have your work cut out for you, cleaning up after her," Hermione replied, not quite sure if this all counted as a neutral topic as they were dancing around the fact that Ginny was raising her child alone, without Harry and why.

"I have Dobby to help me. It seems as if that elf has been looking after Potters for a long time," Ginny said quietly, looking down at her daughter's dark head.

"Since my second year, your first. That was a long time ago," sighed Hermione, hoping that they would come no closer to mention of the missing few.

For a while longer the two sat, making strained conversation. Each wished for the visit to end, but felt they owed the other to at least keep up the pretence of friendship.

Later, Hermione sat on the couch all by herself this time, and cried. She wanted nothing more than to curl up in a corner and never again have to face Ginny or any other Weasley again. Hermione didn't even want to see that stupid Weasley red hair, unless it was on Ron!

Ron! Oh, Ron. How she missed him, wanted him back, couldn't stand to be away from him any longer. And yet, Hermione wasn't sure she would have been able to face him, even if he were to return to her. She had done a terrible thing, betraying him the way she had. She had made a terrible mistake. And because of it, Hermione couldn't face her friends, even though they had once been almost family. Hermione couldn't even look at Harry's child, all because of her stupid mistake.

Suddenly it occurred to Hermione that what she had done was a mistake.

She had known all along that it was one, but only now did it sink in. She had made a mistake. She hadn't knowingly set out to hurt anyone, or betray Ron. She had only done something stupid when she was trying to deal with all the horrible things that had happened. And maybe, if it had only been a mistake, there was a chance at forgiveness.

Hermione didn't quite understand it, but she knew that she needed to be forgiven before she could move on, like she suddenly knew she had to. Maybe if she went to see Mrs Weasley, or Ginny, and asked them to forgive her…

But a voice whispered inside her, sounding a little like Ron, that they had never blamed her, she had only blamed herself.

Which meant that she had to forgive herself, the voice told her, even if that was truly the most difficult thing she had ever had to do.

"I don't feel right about this," Ron Weasley said again, for what seemed like the billionth time to his impatient companion.

"You don't feel right about returning to your girlfriend and family after months and months? You don't feel right about helping to finally destroy that last damn Horcrux? Or do you just not feel right in the head?" asked Nate Deneenan.

"No! I don't feel right leaving Harry to fend for himself against Voldemort," Ron explained, though both he and Nate knew it well.

"I know, but just concentrate on the other stuff. It's not like we can help the fact that Harry took off without us in the dark of the night. Besides, like he said in his note, the Order needs to know that he's going after Voldemort, and where to pick up the death eaters," Nate said "Now, let's get our stuff and go."

The two boys stepped into green flames and came tumbling out the fireplace at the Headquarter of the order of the Phoenix. Ron stood, brushing soot from his hair, and looked around. His eye caught on the red haired woman sitting at the kitchen table.

"Hi, mom, I'm back."


	10. Chapter 10: Looking for Answers

**Chapter Ten**

**Looking For Answers…**

"R-ron?" gasped Mrs Weasley, staring at her youngest son, wondering faintly if she was seeing things. She knew he was dead, but there he was, looking too solid to be a ghost…

"Yeah, mum, it's me…" Ron said, looking confused. Why was his mother so surprised to see him? He'd been gone a while, but that wasn't any reason for her to look so pale and forlorn at the sight of him.

"But you're dead! You and Harry and Nathan, you're all dead!" Mrs Weasley murmured, on the verge of sobbing.

"No we're not! Didn't Angel tell you? We were attacked, but we're alive!" Ron said desperately, not sure what to do, taking a hesitant step towards his mother.

"Ron?" she asked again weakly.

"Yeah," Ron said, finally reaching out to wrap an arm around her.

For a good while, Mrs Weasley did nothing but sob onto the shoulder of her newly returned son, as he held her and Nate prepared some tea and a calming potion. All the while, both boys were wondering what had happened while they were gone, to make Mrs Weasley behave so oddly upon their return. After she stopped crying, and was able to speak again, the three all sat at the table and the boys set about pulling the story from Mrs Weasley.

"Oh Ron, you're home," sighed Mrs Weasley. "Do we have to go into all the things that have happened?"

"Mum, we need to know some things," began Ron.

"Starting with, why didn't Angel tell you we were alright?" demanded Nate, who had been on the edge of panic since the moment he had realized that Mrs Weasley hadn't heard the news that Angel was supposed to have brought back. Had something happened to her?

"She fell. Hit her head… now she doesn't remember anything. She's been beating herself up for months, especially since she accepted that you were dead. Except you're not, are you?" Mrs Weasley sounded close to tears again.

"Is she alright?" Nate demanded sharply.

"She's fine, physically," Mrs Weasley said with a small smile.

"What about the others? How are Hermione and Ginny and my brothers and, and everyone?" asked Ron.

"Ginny is managing. If it weren't for Jamie, she might be worse off. Hermione is doing much better lately. The last few days, she came to visit me at least twice, plus she went to lunch with Ginny. She seems to be starting to get over what happened a few months ago," Mrs Weasley seemed to not see the two before her anymore.

"Who's Jamie? What happened to Hermione?" demanded Ron.

Mrs Weasley seemed to come back to herself. She stared at Ron a few moments, searching his eyes. "I think the girls will have to answer those questions. Now, your brothers are doing okay. There have been few deaths lately. Everyone was shocked, they thought that when Harry died, Voldemort would go crazy in celebration and start killing openly. Ginny told me she wasn't surprised when he didn't. She says that the only one who could be more upset by Harry's death than her was his greatest foe. Ginny said Voldemort would have wanted to finish Harry himself, publicly, just to prove that no one could defy him for long." With a faint smile, Mrs Weasley continued, "She scared me when she talked like that, but don't tell her that."

"Is there anything else we should know about before we go check on the girls?" asked Ron, preparing to leave, anxious to see Hermione again after so long.

"Yes. Ron, don't be too hard on Hermione. She's been through a lot. Same with you're sister. She needs Harry even more than Hermione needs you," as soon as the words left her mouth, Mrs Weasley looked around quickly, "Where is Harry?"

"Promise not to yell, mum, and I'll tell you," Ron said, backing up from his mother.

"Ronald Weasley, where is your sister's husband?!" cried Mrs Weasley.

"He left. He snuck off without us one night after we destroyed the last Horcrux. His note said that he was going after Voldemort, and that he couldn't risk anyone else's life on this last mission." Ron said, feeling it was best to get it all out at once.

"You let him go!? You let your sister's husband, your best friend, the father of-" Mrs Weasley faltered, then pushed on, trying to cover her near admission. "You let him go on his own?! How could you do that?"

"There was no stopping him! Harry didn't even tell us he was going." Ron defended himself.

Mrs Weasley was relieved that Ron hadn't caught on, but a glace at Nathan, who stood silently behind her son, told her that one person did catch on to what she said. The American wizard with the scruffy brown hair was frowning, trying to figure out what all was going on, but Ron just shrank back from his mother's anger. Mrs Weasley was grateful that her youngest boy hadn't changed too much on his quest to help save the wizarding world.

Suddenly it really hit her. Ron was home.

A week later, Ron Weasley sat on the couch beside his girlfriend, and wondered when she was going to tell him what was bothering her. Though he had a sneaking suspicion he already knew what she was going to tell him, Ron pretend not to even know she had anything serious on her mind. Hopefully, she would let him avoid his painful task for at least a few more days.

"Ron?" asked Hermione.

"Yes, dear?" replied Ron, still marvelling at how fast they had fallen back into sync.

"What are your plans for today?" she asked, obviously thinking that he should be doing something in particular.

"Why so I get the feeling that crawling back into bed with you is not an option?" he joked weakly.

"You can't avoid her any longer. Ginny has to be told, and Harry trusted you to do it for him," Hermione lectured, reminding Ron of their school days.

"I know, but sometimes I think our best friend just left so he wouldn't have to face his very angry wife," muttered Ron.

"Ron, you know that Harry can always get her to stop yelling," teased Hermione, though Ron missed it.

"Really? How?" he asked hopefully.

"I doubt you'd approve of his methods," was the dry reply.

"Hermione! That's my sister your talking about!" cried Ron.

"And that's exactly the reason you have to go tell her now. Ginny deserves to know that her husband is alive. Besides, I left part of the story out when you asked what's been going on. There's something that Ginny will have to explain to you." Hermione told Ron.

"What?" asked Ron, then his mind went back to what his mother had said just after his return. "Is this about that Jamie bloke that Mum mentioned Ginny had taken up with?"

Hermione stared at the love of her life for a moment then began to laugh. Ron had such a way of getting everything all backwards!

"Hermione, it isn't funny! Ginny's married to our best mate, she shouldn't be taking up with anyone, even if she thinks he's dead. Especially when I tell her he's not," Ron spoke over top Hermione's laughter until she stopped.

"Ron, you really need to go visit your sister!" Hermione giggled.

"Fine, don't tell me what's so funny! Just tell me how to get to her house," Ron grumpily asked.

"I can't. I don't know where she lives, no one does." Hermione said, getting up to write a brief note inviting Ginny to lunch.

"That's dangerous!" cried Ron, "Not telling anyone where she lives. What's Ginny playing at?"

"She's playing at trying to keep the ghosts at bay," Hermione told Ron as she sent the not off with Ron's owl, Pig. "I don't blame her. I might have done the same myself, but I was all alone and I wanted to keep your ghost close."

Wrapping Hermione comfortingly in his arms, Ron replied "Ginny was alone as well."

"No she wasn't. She had Jamie, and I have to admit, I was jealous, especially after the miscarriage." Hermione spoke softly, though she had told Ron about her lost baby and the mistake that had lead to its conception the day after he returned. To her surprise, Ron had not only forgiven her, but said he understood why she had done what she did.

"That's it!" cried Ron in frustration, "No more mention of this Jamie until I know who the hell he is!"


	11. Chapter 11: Shocking

**Chapter Eleven**

**Shock**

"Hermione, ready for lunch? Jamie's with the grandparents, so I thought we could go out, my treat!" Ginny called as she walked through Hermione's flat.

Ginny sat down hard when she entered Hermione's kitchen, all thoughts of treating her friend to a lunch out flying from her mind. In fact, all thought in general stopped at the sight of the tall redheaded man standing with his arm wrapped casually around Hermione. Ginny nearly broke down in tears, so powerful was the sight before her, Hermione's face radiant, if concerned, and the tall shaggy man looking so familiar, if a little older and a little scruffier.

"Ron?" she barely whispered. "It can't be! If you're alive, then Harry is, and he's dead. I know he is. Every time I look at Jamie I have to remind myself that he is!" as she spoke, Ginny's voice reached its loudest, dropped down to its lowest, then reached maximum again, her emotions swinging similarly.

"Calm down, Gin, its alright. He's alive, they're alive," Hermione spoke soothingly, and suddenly Ginny believed her. She broke down in tears, sobbing and sobbing Harry's name and Ron's and rambling randomly on. Neither Ron nor Hermione understood much of what she said, but both comforted Ginny until she was somewhat calm again. Then she asked the tough question.

"He is still alive, isn't he?" asked Ginny, "Where's my husband?"

"Gin-gin, he went after Voldemort. On his own, late one night, without telling us. He left a note, and a stack of letters addressed to you. His note said that they're all the letters he's started to you but couldn't send. Apparently there are some in here from as soon as the day after we left. He says he's sorry he couldn't come home right away, but he said that he sent me home to comfort you. He also gave the order to call off all the extra protection he put on you."

"Why would he do that?" asked Hermione, to whom this tidbit was news.

"Because he knows that all Voldemort's attention will be focused on him now," Ginny answered, certain of her guess, as she stared down at the letters Ron had placed before her. "You killed that damn snake, didn't you?"

"Yeah, a week ago. We caught up to Voldemort and some of his most loyal servants. We made the snake's death look accidental. We bounced a curse off a statue, killing that thing and Bellatrix," Ron gently informed his sister.

"That means that the last of the Blacks are finally gone. Malfoy's mother was killed in a raid on the ministry. Tonks' mother died protecting her muggle husband from her sisters, maybe four months ago," Hermione filled Ron in quietly.

"Ron, I'm glad to see you home safe, but I think I'll go. I need to be with Jamie right now," Ginny said, then she realised that some explanations were probably due. "Unless of course you're wondering who Jamie is…"

"Gin, I think I'll go visit with your parents and Jamie," Hermione said gently, knowing that the brother and sister would want some time to talk.

When Hermione left, Ron turned to his sister, his mouth in a bitter twist. "So does this Jamie spend a lot of time with our parents?"

"Umm, yeah," Ginny began, startled by Ron's expression, "Particularly with mum. They've really taken to each other."

"Don't they all?" muttered Ron, sullenly.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Ginny.

"Nothing," began Ron, "But what'll Harry think?"

"I think he'll understand, don't you?" asked Ginny timidly as Ron played off her biggest fear by accident.

"If you think he'll understand you bringing Jamie into your life while he was off fighting a war, you don't know him very well," scoffed Ron.

"You think he'll be upset enough to leave me?" asked Ginny.

"Think about it Ginerva!" Ron snapped.

"I don't think _you _know him as well as you claim!" cried Ginny, "He'll understand about Jamie! And if he doesn't, who needs him!"

"He's your husband, Ginny! How could you?" Ron asked, disappointment deep in his eyes.

"Yeah, well Jamie's even more important to me than he is!" with those words that she didn't mean, and a slammed door, she snatched up Harry's letters and Ginny left the flat before remembering that there were faster ways to travel than by foot.

A few minutes later Hermione arrived home. Ron was sitting at the kitchen table, contemplating a glass of liquor. His girlfriend sat down across from him and looked at his cup, noticing that not much was missing from there or the tall bottle beside him. "You know, this stuff doesn't really help much with grief or misery or regrets. Sure, it numbs them all, but it also makes you act foolishly and that just causes more grief, misery and regret."

"Why do you think I haven't taken more than a drink?" asked Ron.

"Did things with Ginny go that badly?" asked Hermione kindly.

"Didn't you talk to her?" asked Ron in turn.

"No, I left when your mum's clock said she was travelling."

"Things went that badly," Ron replied, "I said some pretty harsh things about Jamie without ever even so much as meeting him."

"Her," Hermione corrected, knowing things were bad if Ginny hadn't even mentioned that her child was female.

"Jamie's a girl?" asked Ron, shocked again. "Does that make it better or worse?"

"Do you really think it will make a difference to Harry when Ginny tells him?" asked Hermione.

"I guess not. Though," Ron replied, "It might effect how he thinks of himself as a guy, I suppose."

_Men and there obsession with sons, _thought Hermione.

_My sister threw my best mate over for a girl. My sister likes girls, _thought Ron.

_My husband is alive. My brother is home, _thought Ginny on her way home after a short chat with her mother. That seemed all the more reason to hurry to her house and barricade herself and her daughter away from the rest of the world. Ginny would lock herself and her baby away, and think of no one else until the day Harry returned. _If _he returned, Ron seemed to think he would take news of Jamie's death poorly. Ginny had never really considered that possibility, even before she gave up hope of Harry's survival. She had assumed he would be disappointed that he hadn't been there, but had thought he'd be happy to think he had a daughter. She'd even thought that Jamie had been born on Harry's birthday was a good sign.

Then, Ginny realised what else that shared birthday might mean.

_Surely not, _Ginny thought, _surely my little baby couldn't be the one the prophecy was made about! _

Ginny tried to dismiss the thought, but the vague sense of danger to her little girl let the flood gates on the worries she had carefully shoved aside for months pour open. What if Voldemort learned of Harry's child and came after her? What if the masses came begging her baby for a miracle? What if Harry really died, and Jamie had to shoulder her father's burden? What if Harry didn't want the responsibility of a wife and daughter as soon as he finished fighting a war? What if-

No! Ginny would not let any of that happen! She would go home, seal away every trace of her famous husband and even more completely ignore her family and friends. It might hurt, but Ginny refused to let Jamie grow up knowing that her father was famous, that he might be dead, that he might die any minute, or that her family had ever fought against a dark lord. Ginny would make sure her daughter grew up, and grew up normally. If she had to, Ginny would change their names, or move or anything, but Ginny would keep her daughter safe.

Once at home, Ginny asked Dobby to collect any mail they received in a drawer in the kitchen, not quite able to tell him to burn it all unopened. Ginny sat down to right a short note to each of the others, explaining how she was taking Jamie on a trip, and that she would be out of contact for a while. Ginny sent the same messageto each of her brothers, her parents, Hermione, Tonks and Remus and Nate's group.

Three hours later, Ginny received a flurry of owls, but she relieved them of their messages and sent them away. Tears streamed down her eyes, but as her daughter patted her wet cheek, Ginny knew she did the right thing. One day Harry would return, and that would be the day that she and her daughter could come out of hiding, but not before then. Too much was at stake; Ginny would now risk her daughter's happiness or life.

The others would just have to understand.


	12. Chapter 12: Whispers on the Streets

**Chapter Twelve**

**Whispers on the Street**

Twenty years had passed since wizards grabbed in cloaks had gathered in the muggle streets, trading rumours about Godric's Hollow and the Potters. Twenty years since they had realized that Voldemort was gone from their everyday lives. Twenty years since they had began to celebrate his defeat noisily and twenty years since they had first drank to the health of the Boy-Who-Lived.

Now the whispers had begun afresh.

"You-Know-Who is gone!"

"Harry Potter is alive!"

"Harry came back from the dead! He attacked He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named! There is no more dark lord and his followers are being rounded up by the Ministry right now!"

"I heard that Harry was never really dead, that he only went undercover!"

"He spent the last three years trying with French wizards!"

"Now that You-Know-Who is dead, will Harry come back?"

"I heard that his wife disappeared a couple years back. Maybe she went to help him!"

"Poor women, thinking her husband was dead all these years. I wonder where she went. Her mother told a friend of mine that she just up and left, no word of explanation or warning."

"I heard that Harry and his wife ran away to Italy together. They've been living there these last three years, and they only happened upon He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named by accident when they were shopping one day in Wales!"

"Well I heard that Ginny Potter found out her husband was alive two years ago and took all his money and ran!"

"I hear that Harry took up with an American woman. They have two kids and a house in Mexico!"

"Some one told me that Harry's been in St Mungo's for a year now, recovering from the defeating You-Know-Who. He's gotten better, and the Ministry has caught most of the Death Eaters, so they're leaking the story now."

"I have it from a reliable source that Harry and the Weasley girl he married have a child together. Harry ran off when he found out she was pregnant. He's been hiding ever since, and I can't say as I blame the poor fellow. They married far too young!"

Everyone seemed to have a new fact or an opinion to share, but one thing was clear: Voldemort was gone, hopefully forever.

**A/N: I know this chapter is insanely short, but the next one will make up for it. My story is drawing to a close now, and this is just setting up the ending. (PS thanks to anyone who reviewed my story at any point, and to everyone who read it!)**


	13. Chapter 13: Return of the Long Absent

**Chapter Thirteen**

**Return of the Long Absent**

Harry Potter stumbled into his house and looked around, hoping to find his wife ready to greet him. He had just Apparated in from dealing with the Ministry, and he hoped to see Ginny again as soon as possible. His once happy little home looked unused and dirty, though. No one, and no signs of people were in evidence.

Next, Harry tried the Burrow, but the scene was much the same. Starting to worry a little, Harry pulled out his wand and tried the new Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, hoping against hope he would find his wife and family their. When he Apparated into the kitchen, Harry was greeted by a wealth of happy noise, so he knew that he had at least found people, but Harry had the sneaking suspicion that Ginny wasn't here either.

"Harry!" cried Molly Weasley, running to hug her surrogate son.

"Hi, Mrs Weasley," said Harry with a bit of a blush.

Harry looked around the now silent room, noticing most of the Order members, and a large amount of Weasley hair, but not his wife. He did see Hermione however, and went to hug her next. But before he could ask her where Ginny was, Ron had come up to speak to him. "Are you still sore about Egypt?" asked Harry.

"Nah, though I wish you hadn't of snuck off on your own. I was all for coming after you, but Nate thought we should come back to England. I've had an easy few years here. I only had the Death Eaters to worry about, and not their master." Ron told Harry with a grin.

"Good, that's what I wanted for you lot," Harry replied with a grin. "Now, where's-"

But a solid hour of speaking with people, swapping stories and hugs passes before Harry was able to ask his question. Finally he simply dragged Ron and Hermione off into another room by their arms, determined to get his answers. He didn't quite know what was going on, but he felt his two best friends were keeping something hidden.

"Where the hell is my wife?" he burst out.

"The thing of it is, Harry…" began Ron.

"We don't precisely know," Hermione told Harry after Ron trailed off. "We think she's at whatever house she's been living in since a few months after your disappearance, but we don't know where that is. Er, we know she's alive because she receives her letters, but she doesn't write back…"

"WHAT?" Harry screamed the question. "Why the hell won't she answer letters or tell you where she lives?"

"We don't quite know…" Hermione offered weakly.

"You're disappearance hurt her terribly, mate. They thought we were dead," Ron took over the conversation. "When Nate and I turned up, and she found out we weren't, she was shocked. Then there was the huge misunderstanding, and I said some very stupid things to her because I hadn't a clue what I was talking about."

"What did you say to her?" asked Harry quickly.

"Well, it's hard to explain just now. There's something Ginny will have to tell you before anything makes sense. I promise I'll tell you everything I said the moment Ginny's explained, and I'll even stand still so you can hit me after. Right now though, I think it's more important that we find your wife."

"Yeah, I'd say," Harry said wearily, wishing that for once, something could have been easy. He'd been dreaming of coming back to Ginny for so long, and he had so hoped to just fall into her arms the second he arrived home.

"Mama!" cried Jamie Potter as she raced towards Ginny, her dark hair falling in messy waves down her back. Her green eyes sparked with delight as she offered a flower to her mother.

"Thank you, sweetie," Ginny smiled as she took the slightly squished dandy lion from her three year old. "Why don't you pick a few more and we'll take them into to Dobby to put in a vase. We'll put them on the kitchen table."

"Okay, Mama." The little girl smiled and ran off, grabbing handfuls of weeds as her mother pulled the wash down from the clothes line. Ginny was only half done when Jamie returned, so she left her basket to escort her little daughter inside and to ask Dobby to help the girl arrange her flowers.

With that, Ginny returned to the wet clothes. As she hung them up, Ginny hummed, enjoying the bright sunshine. Suddenly from behind her, Ginny heard a soft gasp. As she was turning to investigate, she heard her name cried out in a devastatingly familiar voice. "Harry!" she cried as she turned to see him.

And there he stood. More muscled than before, and with a new scar that wrapped around his neck, but there he stood. Her Harry had come home to her. Ginny and Harry flew together, mouths meeting in a hot and desperate kiss. His lips on hers were demanding, but Ginny could only be glad. She opened her mouth to him, revelling in the once familiar sensations of being in his arms.

Soon his hands found the buttons on her shirt and the pair sank to the grassy ground of Ginny's back garden. As each pulled off the other's clothing, happy tears added a salty touch to their kisses. Harry dipped his head to catch one nipple softly in his teeth as his hand reacquainted themselves with every inch of her, and she did the same. Then Ginny became impatient. Leaning up so her moist lips were beside his ear, Ginny began to whisper. "I want you inside me. Deep inside."

Then Ginny grabbed a hold of him and pulled him to her entrance. As he eased into to her velvety depths, Ginny moaned with pleasure. When he was in her fully, he slowly pulled out, and Ginny began to whisper again. "Faster Harry, I want you to go faster. Harder and faster, Harry."

He complied and soon they were both climaxing powerfully. When they were through, they couldn't long hang in the afterglow because they were outside and naked. They quickly and sloppily dressed again, and Harry tried to pull her towards the house. Ginny stopped him, though, and realized that the time for confession had come. "Harry, wait a second, honey. I have to tell you something."

"What is it, love?" asked Harry as he turned to wrap his arms around his wife.

"Well, some things have changed in the time you've been gone. You have to meet someone," Ginny took a deep breath, and looked up at the love of her life, "And Harry, love, know that I never meant for this to happen."

Harry was utterly confused as Ginny pulled away from him and headed for her house. At the doorway, she paused and called out, "Sweetheart, come here! Jamie, come out back!"

Harry utterly froze. Who was his wife calling? Had she married again when she thought he was dead? Was some bloke going to come out and tell him that Ginny was his now, and Harry shouldn't have gone off to war and left her behind?

The person who followed Ginny out of their home was both a great relief and very shocking at the same time.

"Harry, this is your daughter, Jamie. Sweetie, this is your daddy." Ginny bent down to scoop the little girl up and then stood so that Harry's emerald eyes met his daughter's. She was a tiny pixie of a girl, with his black hair and emerald eyes, but a few of Ginny's freckles and her petite frame.

"Jamie?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, Jamie. Jamison Lilia Molly Artemisia Weasley-Potter, I named her for our parents. Jamie, tell your daddy how old you are," Ginny prompted, though she wasn't sure that Harry would even hear. He was looking at their daughter with eyes full of wonder and happiness.

"I'm three, Daddy," Jamie said quietly. "Mommy gaveded me a dolly and a toy broom for my birthday, and Dobby gaveded me socks."

"Did he? That was nice of him. Dobby always liked socks," Harry said, voice a little faint.

"Jamie, why don't you go get your dolly to show your daddy," Ginny suggested, sending her daughter back into the house, knowing that Dobby would help her as she spoke with Harry.

"We have a daughter," said Ginny, hoping that the happiness she had read in Harry wasn't just wishful thinking.

"You named her Jamie," Harry replied with a smile.

"Well, when I thought you were dead, I tried to come up with a name that left no one out. Jamison for you and your father, Lilia for your mother, Molly for me and mum and Artemisia because that was a close to a female version of Dad's name as I could get. I'm not really stuck on the Weasley-Potter bit, I just thought that it might be nice to mention both her families in her name." Ginny explained.

"I like it all," Harry said, turning to look at his wife. "Oh, Gin, I'm so sorry for being gone so long! If I'd known about Jamie, I-"

"You might not have been able to do what you did to make her world safer. The important part is that you came back to us now," Ginny said, then she asked timidly, "You have come back to us, haven't you?"

"Of course! How could you even ask?" Harry said, scooping her up.

"Oh, just something Ron said a long time ago. He thought you'd be upset…" Ginny trailed off.

"If you'd maybe read one of his letters, you'd know that he was acting on faulty information. If I had to bet on it, I'd say Ron thought 'Jamie' was a guy you'd fallen in love with, not our daughter. Unless he met her…" Harry trailed off.

"No, he didn't!" Ginny laughed, "What an idiot!"

"Do you forgive him, then?" asked Harry.

"Yes," Ginny said, to happy be angry with anyone.

"That's good, because he'll likely be at the family dinner your mother invited us to tonight. They've missed you, Gin," asked Harry, "Will you come with me to visit them tonight?"

"I suppose so," sighed Ginny, a twinkle in her eye, "But that may cut into the plans I had for you and I tonight, after Jamie goes to bed."

Harry through his head back and laughed, then carried his wife towards their home, "Then we'll just have to make up for that right now!"

And they did.


End file.
